PCCharge - Historical Support

PCCharge™ is a middleware credit card server that is installed on a Windows machine behind the DMZ.

A venue needs to set up a merchant account with one of the 15 +/- supported processors (Paymentech, Elavon and Moneris are three of them). Installation is done using the standard PCCharge™ installers following the PCCharge™ Secure Implementation Guide.

Theatre Manager Version 10 is audited for PCI compliance with the direct processing option. PCCharge is not supported but may still work (PCCharge 5.93 or lower). Verifone has changed the API to their product assuring that future versions of PCCharge are likely incompatible.

Theatre Manager Version 9 was PCI certified to Work with PCCharge 5.9 and earlier. However, it is no longer recommended for use. and direct processing should be used instead to simplify meeting PCI.

This section deals with commonly asked questions about credit card authorization and ongoing maintenance of the PCCharge credit card server.

System Flow

The following illustrates the difference in flow of the authorization between the direct processing approach and PCCharge.

PCCharge™ has a few more potential points of failure in the communication chain - a TCP error at any point can cause Theatre Manager and the bank to see different things. It's not too critical as the difference is made obvious in the end of day process, and you can then go off and find (and correct) it. But it takes time. In any case, a merchant has to maintain a PCI-compliant office setup.

PC Charge Installation

PCCharge licensing is provided by Arts Management along with our custom PCCharge Adaptor module to support credit card authorization. The installation is done for you on site by Arts Management training staff on a machine that is inside the main network and isolated from the internet.

Arts Management does not support Global Payments as a service provider with for new installations in Canada.

Credit Card Charges do not show up in Deposit.

Sometimes you just know that there are credit card charges that have been done throughout the day and you cannot see them in the deposit window during End Of Day process. There are one possible reason:

No Employee Permissions to deposit credit cards

Depositing credit card batches is a responsibility that is not necessarily given to every employee. If you do not have the ability in your employee preferences to deposit credit card batches, you will not see any credit cards in the deposit list. It means you cannot deposit them inadvertently. The benefits to this are to allow certain employees the ability to deposit credit cards as part of the accounting procedures, while preventing others from making unscheduled deposits throughout the day.

Missed Settling PC Charge within the Required Time Period

The following steps may need to be followed if the settlement process in PC Charge has not been completed within the required time period and credit cards previously authorized are no longer valid and are required to be re-authorized again. The maximum time period between settlements is determined by your merchant provider, not PC Charge nor Theatre Manager.

It is required to force settle PC Charge and Theatre Manager at the end of this process even though the merchant totals and Theatre Manager will be in balance, because of the missed settlement timeline. In PC Charge, it will appear (as appearance only) that the batch totals are higher for the total credit cards that you were required to re-authorize and they will appear (as appearance only) that those cards were charged twice.

The steps for your merchant provider may be different, but in most cases the following steps are the same. If the following menu options are unavailable, please contact Arts Management Support.

In PC Charge goto Batch >> Inquire >> Open Batch

Click OK

Write down all the numbers presented on the screen. The key value that will be used to balance to, is 'Total Balance $'

Click Close Form to close the window

Determine which credit cards need to be re-authorized in Theatre Manager

Log into Theatre Manager as an employee with 'master user' access

Go to Accounting >> End of Day Wizard >> Deposit tab >> Deposit Funds

Enter today's date

Click Deposit

Select ALL non-credit card payments

Click Remove in the window toolbar. This will just 'remove' the payments that we do not need to deal with at this time -- they have not been deleted.

Click Summary by Patron

Maximize the window size in order to view more columns easily

Sort by the 'Date Received' Column (do this by clicking on the column header)

Start at the BOTTOM of the list and start multi-line selecting each credit card one at a time. At the bottom of the window, there will be a 'total' payments displayed. When this 'total' matches the PC Charge Batch 'Total Balance $' that you determined in the prior step, then STOP. You now have the credit cards authorizations that the bank has.

Click Remove in the window toolbar. This will just 'remove' the credit card payments that we do not need to re-authorize at this time -- they have not been deleted.

The credit card payments on the screen, are the payments that need to be re-authorized as their 'authorization number' provided by the bank is no longer valid.

Click Print in the window toolbar to get a printed report of the payments that need to be re-authorized or use the list on the window as a reference if PC Charge is close by.

Authorize the credit cards in PC Charge

Repeat the above steps for each credit card that is required to be re-authorized.

Verify the batch totals from the merchant provider via PC Charge

The steps for your merchant provider may be different, but in most cases the following steps are the same. If the following menu options are unavailable, please contact Arts Management Support.

In PC Charge go to Batch >> Inquire >> Open Batch

Click OK

The batch totals should now match the total credit cards in Theatre Manager.

If the totals match, then carry onto the next step. If the totals do not match, then you missed entering or double entered (depending on the total difference) a credit card -- go and correct the mistake.

Manually Settle PC Charge

The steps for your merchant provider may be different, but in most cases the following steps are the same. If the following menu options are unavailable, please contact Arts Management Support.

In PC Charge go to Batch >> Settle

Click OK

The batch will now be settled with the merchant provider.

Force Settle Theatre Manager

Log into Theatre Manager as an employee with 'master user' access

Go to Accounting >> End of Day Wizard >> Deposit tab >> Deposit Funds

Enter today's date

Click Deposit

Proceed with the deposit as normal.

At the end of the process, you will get warning messages that the PC Charge could not be settled -- this is ok, as you have manually settled it. You will be asked if you should 'force' the deposit, click the buttons to proceed with a forced deposit -- there will be multiple warnings.

PC Charge database is approaching limit

Every time you start Theatre Manager, it checks to see if it can find the credit card server and inquires about its health. After many credit cards have been authorized, you may see a message that indicate that PC Charge's PCCW.MDB database is approaching its recommended maximum.

This is an advisory message only and not an error message. The warning starts appearing when the PC Charge Database is approximately 75% of its maximum recommended size of 20 MB.

You will continue to get this notice each time you start Theatre Manager, until you archive the PC Charge data file. You can exceed the manufacturers recommended maximum and can still process credit cards, however, you may see authorizations and reports slow down and other odd behaviour as the file gets bigger. We recommend taking care of this situation as soon as practical.

To shrink the size of the PCCW.MDB database

Pause all Web listeners to prevent any sales while you are performing the following steps. The time required might be 5 minutes.

Pause all Web Listeners on all machines.

Complete your End of Day Deposit process in Theatre Manager.

Close Theatre Manager.

Steps at PC Charge machine

Go to the machine that has PC Charge on it and open the PC Charge interface. Perform the next steps at that machine.

Click the EOD button.

Ensure the batch totals are zero. If they are not, start the instructions at the top of the page.

If there are still batches (or intermediate batches), please call support and do not continue.

Click the Cancel button.

Close out of PC Charge completely(do not minimize).

Open My Computer.

Navigate to c:\Program Files\Active-Charge

Look for the file called PCCW.MDB. Verify that its size is about the same as reported by Theatre Manager.

Right-click on the pccw.mdb file.

Select Send To >> Compressed Zipped Folder.

Allow the file to zip.

Right-click on the zipped copy of the pccw file (it will be a yellow folder with a zipper on it).

Select Rename.

Add the date to the end of the file name but before the .zip extension.

Right-click on the original pccw.mdb file.

Select Delete.

Optionally, you can copy the zipped pccw file to a location for storage and backup (the BoxOffice\Backups folder containing daily backups is a good option).

Start up PC Charge.

When you start PC Charge, a new pccw.mdb file is created. This file will continue to store future transactions for you.
You can now start Theatre Manager, resume sales and start any web listeners.

PCCharge - Misc pages

NOTE: PC charge has not been officially supported for at least two years. We are still able to help diagnose out of balance issues and other usage issues. We cannot provide any fundamental PC charge support.

The recommendation is to use a direct processor like Paymentech Orbital, Moneris, Authorize.net or one of the other providers.

This web page is for legacy support only.

Setting Up, Moving, or Editing a PC Charge Installation

The following pages help you to set up, move, or changing settings in an existing PC Charge installation.

Creating a PC Charge Config Disk

A Config Disk is a backup file of the configuration settings for PC Charge. We recommend you store a zipped backup copy of the Config Disk on a machine other than the one running PC Charge. Often you create a Config Disk before upgrading PC Charge or when moving PC Charge to a different machine.

To create a PCCharge Config Disk, you perform the following steps:

Right click on the desktop of the computer with PC Charge.

Create a NEW folder and name the folder PCChargeConfigFiles.

Open PC Charge.

Select Utilities >> Config Disk.

Choose the Update/Create Config Disk option.

Click "OK".

Click "Yes".

Click "OK".

Click "Cancel".

Navigate to the PCChargeConfigFiles folder on the desktop.

Click "Open".

Setup or Upgrade PC Charge

Contact a Certified Merchant Provider to arrange account setup.

This process needs to be started at least four weeks in advance of the date PC Charge is scheduled to be activated. Most Merchant Providers will require the submission of financial information from the organization prior to processing account setup. For a list of Certified Merchant Providers click here and select the merchant provider's pdf.

There are a number of merchant providers in the USA. In Canada, we recommend Paymentech, although there is one other option which is no longer supported for new installations.

Submit requested information to the Merchant Provider.

It can take up to fifteen business days for a Merchant Provider to process information. Missing or incorrect information can often lead to delays. Current financial institutions are often helpful with assisting in filling out the required information sheets.

For more information on enabling credit card processing in Theatre Manager click here.

Hardware Requirements for PC Charge (Legacy)

Arts Management ended support of PC Charge in Theatre Manager in 2010. Version 5.93 (or earlier) of PC charge should still work for existing installations. However, we recommend switching to a direct processor to simplify your system and improve the ability to meet PCI compliance.

This is the 16 digit number found in the Arts Management Systems Welcome Letter.

Click Ok.

The Preferences window opens.

Change the Last Valid Year to 10 - 15 years greater then the current year.

Check all cards to be processed and uncheck any unnecessary cards.

Click the Advanced button.

The Advanced Configuration Setup window opens.

Check the TCP/IP Communications box.

Ensure the Local Port Number is set to 31419.

Click the Ok button.

Click the System Log button.

The System Log Settings window opens.

Check the box next to Create IOebug.Log File.

Click the OK button.

Click Ok in the Preferences window.

The PC Charge Payment Server password confirmation window opens.

Click the Ok button.

The Merchant Setup Wizard Opens. Do not proceed into the Wizard unless setup information from the Merchant Provider has been received.

Click the Next button.

The Merchant Setup window opens.

Select the Credit Card Processing Company from the drop down.

This will be the Merchant Provider.

Click the Add button.

The Register New Merchant Licence window will appear.

Enter the Merchant/TID number.

The Merchant Provider will have produced a Merchant/TID number. Depending on the Provided this may be a combination of the Bank ID and Merchant number.

Click the Ok button.

The System Code window will appear. In the organization resides in the US a Security Code can be obtained by visiting http://register.pccharge.com. If the organization resides in Canada Verifone will need to be contacted for the security code.

The Extended Data Fields window will open. This window is different for each Merchant Provider. For most providers the Company Type should be set to retail unless otherwise indicated by the Provider. In addition, if the window contains an Advanced button this area will need to be visited and the correct information entered to allow for processing. Failure to complete the required extended information may prevent the system for processing transactions.

Click the Ok button to return to the Merchant Setup Wizard.

PCI 1.2: Updating PCCharge to V5.92

If you are looking for assistance with login information for PC Charge and are NOT an Arts Management Systems client

PLEASE CONTACT VERIFONE DIRECTLY AT 1 (866) 659-8981.

PCCharge Users Only: Backing Up Your PCCharge Data

The following instructions MUST be followed PRIOR to upgrading your existing version of PCCharge. Failure to observe proper upgrade procedure may result in loss of valuable payment data and/or program functionality. The section Upgrade Preparation (in the PCCharge Manual PDF) contains the complete set of directions for the upgrade preparation process, but it is vital that you at least back up your existing data prior to upgrading PCCharge.

Before you can install this update, you MUST have pre-purchased the license migration for PCCharge AND received acknowledgement that the license migration has been completed. It normally takes 2 - 3 business days to process the migration request BEFORE you are able to upgrade PCCharge. If you are an Arts Management Systems client please contact tod@artsman.com or (403)536-1214 to order your license migration.

Start your copy of PCCharge if it isn't already running.

Process and Settle/Close any outstanding transactions prior to installing this upgrade using the standard Theatre Manager End-Of-Day processing. Then make sure that there is no outstanding batch in PC charge.

Click Utilities on the menu bar.

Click Backup Files….

Click BackUp. The Backup Data Files To… window will appear.

Click Open. It may take a few moments for PCCharge to complete this procedure.

Click OK when you see the message "Backup was Successful".

PCCharge has created a file named BACKUPID.ZIP and placed it the PCCharge installation directory. Do not delete this file, as certain PCCharge files can be recovered from this file in case of data loss.

You may now shut down PCCharge.

Click File on the menu bar.

Click Exit

Ensure the green dollar sign in the Windows System Tray (near the clock) is not present.

To be absolutely certain that you have all necessary information (in the unlikely event of upgrade issues), you must back up the entire PCCharge directory. To do this, complete the following steps:

Double Click on the My Computer icon on the desktop (or look for it in the Start Menu)

Double Click on the C: drive

Double Click on the Program Files folder. It might ask you to show the contents - please do so

Right-click the folder named Active-Charge. A menu will appear. Left-click and select the option Copy. The menu will disappear.

Move your mouse pointer to the right of the folder's name, over empty space (while remaining in the same window). Right-click this empty space.

Another menu will appear. Left-click and then select Paste. The menu will disappear, and Windows will make a copy of your entire PCCharge folder.

After the files have finished copying, you may close the C:\Program Files window by clicking File, then selecting Close

How to Install the PCCharge v5.92 Upgrade:

Click on the download link. Before you can install this update, you MUST have pre-purchased the license migration for PCCharge AND received acknowledgement that the license migration has been completed. It normally takes 2 - 3 business days to process the migration request BEFORE you are able to upgrade PCCharge. If yuo are an Arts Management Systems client please contact tod@artsman.com or (403)536-1214 to order your license migration.

You will be prompted to Open, or Save to Disk. Select Save to Disk and change the destination to Desktop

After the file download is complete to the Desktop, it is important to settle any open batches currently in PCCharge as per the instructions in the first section and Make a Backup of the Active-Charge directory. If you did not do this already, please do so now.

After visually verifying that you have a copy of the Active-Charge folder, Right-Click on the .zip file that you just downloaded, and select Unzip.

When the file is unzipped, a file named Setup.exe will be available in the "Payment Server" folder.

Double Click on Setup.exe, and the PCCharge upgrade process will launch.

When prompted for the Setup Type choose Custom. Change the Installation path from C:\Program Files to C:\ and follow the remaining prompts.

When the upgrade installation is complete, reboot the computer

When the computer has restarted, please launch PCCharge as you normally would.

Attempt a test transaction and settlement (if applicable).

Starting PCCharge 5.93 for the first time

If you are looking for assistance with login information for PC Charge and are NOT an Arts Management Systems client

If upgrading from 5.71, PCCharge 5.71 must be already installed on the computer that you are installing PCCharge 5.93 or later onto. You will not be able to copy in the PCCharge Configuration Files from a different installation.

Please contact your merchant provider before upgrading to PCCharge version 5.93 and let them know what you are doing as they "may" need to make adjustments to your account on their side before you will be able to authorize and settle transactions using PCCharge 5.93. This is especially true for:

Global Payment Systems (NDC) - Do not call the merchant provider. Call Arts Management at (403)536-1211 after you have upgraded PCCharge.

Your new Datawire ID will be assigned by VeriFone via a telephone call from Arts Management when you have indicated that PCCharge is upgraded. Arts Management will need remote access to the PCCharge computer to complete the new Datawire ID setup. Theatre Manager's Remote Assistance option can be used for providing the the required remote access.

FDMS (All various providers) - a NEW Datawire ID will be issued for you, along with new URLs for Primary and Secondary

Wells Fargo - a NEW Datawire ID will be issued for you

TSYS Acquiring Solutions(VisaNet/Vital) - your merchant provider just needs to be aware of the upgrade to PCCharge 5.92

Reboot your computer before starting this process. Microsoft Windows Security Update KB2229593 has the possibility of conflicting with PCCharge if both the Microsoft Windows Update is run at the same time as PCCharge upgrade happens without rebooting between updates. Microsoft Windows Security Update KB2229593 can be run either before or after the PCCharge upgrade as long as the computer is rebooted immediately after this Windows Update is completed.

Why is it important to reboot prior to installing PCCharge?

Because some computers have the automatically download/install Windows Updates option turn on (although it is highly recommended to have this turned off for the Database Server, Apache Server and PCCharge Server) and the Microsoft Windows Update may have been installed without your knowledge.

Please Remember your PCCharge SYSTEM and MANAGER passwords

If you change these passwords, and subsequently lose or forget the SYSTEM password, there will be at minimum a $400 charge to your organization to reset the password. As PCCharge version 5.93 has many more security requirements, resetting the SYSTEM password is not a simple process and involves bringing together Arts Management Support with VeriFone Support together to create customized re-initialization programs.

Logging back into Theatre Manager

Quit Theatre Manager

Employees and the Web Listener's may now log back into Theatre Manager and process credit cards as normal

Common Issues Experienced when Upgrading PCCharge

Installing PCCharge SSL Certificate

These steps are only used when the PCCharge's SSL Certificate does not appear by default in the System Configuration process. If the certificate did appear, then there is no need to follow these steps.

Extract the files from the PCChargeServer590.zip or from the PCChargeServer593.zip folder

Install PCCharge SSL Certificate by double-clicking on the \PCChargeServer593\PCC593\SSL Certificate\PCChargeDefaultCertificate-CA.pfx

Follow the prompts to install the application (accept all the defaults, do not enter in a password)

After installing PCCharge's SSL Certificate, go back and complete the System Configuration Setup

Pre-Existing Datawire ID Customers
If you have a pre-existing Datawire ID for version 5.71, you will need to get it reprovisioned for version 5.93. Contact your Merchant Provider who will contact Datawire to get it reprovisioned for version PCCharge Server 5.8 (yes, 5.8) and higher. This is especially true for:

Global Payment Systems (NDC) - Do not call the merchant provider. Call Arts Management at (403)536-1211 after you have upgraded PCCharge. Your new Datawire ID will be assigned by VeriFone via a telephone call from Arts Management when you have indicated that PCCharge is upgraded. Arts Management will need remote access to the PCCharge computer to complete the new Datawire ID setup. Theatre Manager's Remote Assistance option can be used for providing the the required remote access.

FDMS (All various providers) - a NEW Datawire ID will be issued for you, along with new URLs for Primary and Secondary

Wells Fargo - a NEW Datawire ID will be issued for you

TSYS Acquiring Solutions(VisaNet/Vital) - your merchant provider just needs to be aware of the upgrade to PCCharge 5.93

or during a pre-arranged scheduled time with Arts Management

Contact Arts Management Support at the pre-arranged date/time

Provide Arts Management Support remote access to the computer

Arts Management will contact VeriFone Tier II support and provide them your PCCharge License Number and will be your Datawire ID converted.

Then follow these steps to get your new and updated Datawire ID

Goto PCCharge

Clear Datawire ID

Enter updated primary and secondary URL (if required)

Click Register button

The new Datawire ID will auto populate with the new ID. If you are provided your new Datawire ID verbally, you can manually enter the ID into the field and save the window changes.

New Installations of PCCharge using a Datawire ID
When you are obtaining your merchant information, you must tell your merchant provider that you will be using PCCharge version 5.93. A Datawire ID may not be supplied to you, rather it will be automatically configured when the Merchant Account is Registered for the first time. Follow these steps to get your new and updated Datawire ID:

Goto PCCharge

Clear Datawire ID

Enter updated primary and secondary URL (if required)

Click Register button

The Datawire ID will auto populate. If you are provided your new Datawire ID beforehand, you can manually enter the ID into the field and save the window changes.

Losing Unlimited User Access
Losing Unlimited User Access
Theatre Manager requires PCCharge to be setup with Unlimited User access. In PCCharge >> Setup >> User, at the top of the window it should say Maximum Users=Unlimited. If this does not, you'll require the assistance of VeriFone to re-instate your Unlimited User access.
Contact contact VeriFone Tier II support and provide them your PCCharge License Number and your PCCharge Unlimited User License Number. If you need help finding your Unlimited User License Number, contact Arts Management Support.
Microsoft Windows Security Update KB2229593 Issue
If Microsoft Windows Update has caused a conflict with PCCharge, you will need to run the following command at the DOS prompt and depending on your Windows Operating System, you may need to insert the Windows Microsoft Operating System CD/DVD that came with your computer. VeriFone and Arts Management is unable to provide you the missing files, as they are dependent on your version of Windows and type of operating system.

Log into the computer as Administrator

Goto Windows >> Start >> Run...

Enter CMD (to goto the command prompt line)

Press OK

Enter sfc/scannow

Press ENTER

Windows will now run "Windows File Protection" (approximately 5 - 30+/- minutes depending on your computer) and will verify the integrity of every protected operating system file on your computer.

In some situations, especially in Windows XP and Windows 2000, you may also need to insert the original Microsoft Operating System CD/DVD if required by the process.

Restart your computer if sfc/scannow did repair any files.

Even if you are not prompted to reboot your computer after this process, reboot the computer anyway.

The integrity process is completed when the window closes.

Reboot the PCCharge Computer

Test again by starting up PCCharge and processing a credit card.

Losing Ability to Process Swiped Credit Cards
If after upgrading each and every 'swiped' credit card fails to get authorized yet if you manually type in the credit card number it works perfectly, then you need to alter the preference in PCCharge.

Settle the existing open batch in PCCharge (if there are authorizations in it) by completing the EOD process in Theatre Manager

In PCCharge, update the merchant account status from Mail Order to Retail

Save the changes

Receiving a Communication Error when Attempting to Process a Credit Card
If after upgrading you receive a communication error each time when processing a credit card, then you may need to re-register PCCharge. The patch provided by VeriFone will re-set PCCharge's files.

Run the "PCC 5.8.x File Re-Registration Tool.exe" and follow the prompts

Start PCharge

Attempt to process a credit card again

PCCharge stops authorizing or authorizes transactions randomly
If after upgrading, PCCharge sometime authorizes cards and other times it does not and stops responding after a period of time, you may need to check the installation folder of PCCharge. PCCharge needs to be installed in the c:\Program Files\Active-Charge folder. If it is installed in any other location, this may be the cause.

This step may change depending on the circumstance - talk to Arts Management Support before proceeding. Goto PCCharge and manually setttle the exisiting batch and force settle Theatre Manager if they are in balance; or have the merchant provider manually settle the batch; or if there is no other option, we could copy over the pccw.mdb from this installation into the new c:\Program Files\Active-Charge folder and review all the system options to make sure there is no reference to the old c:\Program Files (X86)\Active-Charge or whatever the old folder was called.

Manually delete the old folder (make sure that if you need the pccw.mdb file that you do not delete it)

Re-install PCCharge into the c:\Program Files\Active-Charge folder

If required to reinstall the pccw.mdb file, COPY the (do not use the original) pccw.mdb file into the c:\Program Files\Active-Charge replacing the empty/new pccw.mdb file.

Start PCharge

Restore the system configuration files when prompted during the initial startup of PCCharge

Verify all system setup configuration fields.

PCCharge stops authorizing, fails to start, or always declines all charges
If after upgrading, PCCharge sometime authorizes cards, fails to start up, or does start up but declines all charges processed. Review the hardware specifications of the computer where PCCharge is installed to the minimum hardware requirements required to operate PCCharge.

Changing PCCharge Passwords

Single click on the MANAGER or SYSTEM user that you want to change the password for

Press ENTER/RETURN on the keyboard

Enter in a TEMPORARY password for the user

Click OK

Click Close

Goto File >> Log Off

The next time this user logs into PCCharge, they will be prompted to change their password to a PERMANENT password good for the next 90 days.

This TEMPORARY and PERMANENT password is designed to allow the user to change the password to something that was not predetermined for them (i.e. someone else knowing what their password is).

Why Do PCCharge Passwords Change Every 90 Days

In order to maintain PCI compliance with PCCharge Payment Server version 5.9 and later, the SYSTEM and MANAGER passwords will be required to be changed every 90 days in order to maintain within this PCI compliance.

Starting 10 days prior to expiration, when you log into PCCharge, it will notify you that your password(s) are about to expire.

After the 90 day period, you will no longer be able to log into PC Charge with your existing passwords, however PC Charge will continue to run.

If you attempt to log into PC Charge, it will require you to immediately change your password(s).

There are restrictions on password renewals:

They must follow the same format (a minimum of 8 characters in length, a mixture of numbers and letters, at least one "special" character)

They cannot be any of the 4 previous passwords used

If the SYSTEM user becomes locked out or the password is forgotten, you will need to call Verifone direct and have that password reset. Verifone will probably bill you for this service.

pccwhist.mdb error on startup

If you receive an error that pccwhist.mdb is missing on startup, it means that there is a configuration setting that needs fixed.

We ask PCCharge to tell us the size of its database at startup. Part of that process requires that PC charge also know where its Archive database is. This is always in the 'backup' directory where the 'Active-Charge' directory was installed. If the directory is renamed, moved, or is installed to a place other than the standard location, you will get the error message above.

To fix it, you will need to:

Start PCCharge (if it is not started)

Open the interface for PC charge by double clicking on the green $ in the system tray (if it is not open)

Provide any credentials as required by logging in

Go to the Utilities Menu

Select the menu item Transaction Archive/Purge

Change the Archive Location path to the actual PCCharge directory. For example, looking at the screenshots below, the Archive Location in the first picture is 'C:\Program Files\PCCW\backup\' and is not reflective of where PCCharge was actually installed.

Change that to where PCCharge was installed as per the second image. Typical value is likely to be:

C:\Program Files\Active-Charge\backup\

C:\Program Files (x86)\Active-Charge\backup\

C:\Active-Charge\backup\

Once you have changed it, please close and restart PC charge, and try log in to Theatre Manager again. Do it twice to confirm that the change is effective.

PABP 1.3: Upgrading PC Charge to v5.7.1I SP9a

Note: PC Charge Version 5.7.1 Release I SP9a is PABP 1.3 certified and the certification lapsed around December 2009. These instructions are legacy instructions - and meant for those who just need to update to the latest 5.71 service pack.

Installing this service pack does not make you compliant as it is supplanted by a new release of PC Charge 5.92 that is PCI DSS 1.2 certified.

The most recent version of PC Charge contains stronger security features and you should upgrade as soon as you are available to. Before upgrading we ask that you stop web sales, run an End of Day and create a Config Disk for PC Charge. For detailed steps on creating a Config Disk click here.

These instructions pertain to upgrading to version 5.71 (a free upgrade). However, the suggested course of action is to upgrade to 5.92.

After you have created a Config Disk (a backup of your PC Charge setup files) you can close PC Charge and install the new upgrade.

Once you have installed the upgrade file you are ready to start PC Charge again and continue with your daily sales.

Moving PC Charge

It is recommend that this process is done during normal business hours.
If there are any problems or issues, Arts Management may need to be involved to trouble shoot. VerfiFone Support may also need to be involved in extreme cases (not the norm).

To move PC Charge from one machine to another, you perform the following steps:

Have everyone log off of Theatre Manager.

Shut down the web listeners (so they do not attempt to process a credit card payment).

Ensure the batch is settled in PC Charge, by completing an End of Day Deposit in Theatre Manager.

Check the Version of PC Charge by clicking Help > About.
Most clients are running either PC Charge 5.92 or 5.71SP9a. If you have a different version, please contact AMS support at support@artsman.com before proceeding.

When asked for a configuration disk say "Yes".
You navigate to the PCC Config folder created on the desktop.

Complete the installation process.

In Theatre Manager click Setup >> System Tables >> Merchant Accounts

Double click on your Merchant Account.

On the Connection Tab, change the URL/IP address to that of the new workstation.

Click "Save" and close the Merchant Account detail window

Auto-Settle Utility for PC Charge

PCCharge includes a utility allowing you to have your terminal-based credit card merchant account settle automatically--at a specified time--just like a host-based account's batch.

The PCCharge Auto-Settle utility creates a log of settlements in plain-test format and stores the log in the PCCharge installation directory. The file (named Settle.log) will contain the settlement response from the processor and the time.date of the settlement.

The PCCharge Auto-Settle utility can be used on the computer on which PCCharge is located, or a computer with read/write access (full permissions) to the PCCharge installation directory.

The Auto-Settle utility is primarily intended for use with one account. When used with multiple accounts, PCCharge will attempt to settle the batches in the order their respective accounts appear in the software. If a settlement attempt fails, the Auto-Settle utility will not continue on to the next account. We highly recommend that you check your Settled Batch Report after using the utility with multiple accounts.

Arts Management's thoughts on having PCCharge Auto-Settle

We strongly recommend you close the batch using Theatre Manager's End of Day process, rather then having your Merchant Provider or PCCharge auto-close the batch. This is particularly important if you are running web sales.

There are complications with having the merchant close your batch. For Example:

You run your end of day at the end of your shift. At that time Theatre Manager includes all of the sales to be deposited from that moment back to the last time you ran the deposit process. This is the information you would be providing your accounting department.

After you run your deposit the web listener continues to process sales. It processed transactions till midnight and then deposits the credit cards.

Those sales are NOT in the deposit information you are providing accounting. They won't be in the deposit until you run the deposit the following evening at which time the next days sales will also be included.

If there is ever a discrepancy between your monthly bank statement and Theatre Manager's End-of-Day reports, it can much harder to trackdown and resolve in a quick and timely fashion.

Another disadvantage is errors in the batch. If the batch has too much money or not enough money to match Theatre Manager you have no opportunity to correct the issue before you deposit. You are sending it to the bank and won't be able to locate differences until the account department finds them. By closing the batch at the box office there is more opportunity to fix things before they are sent on to accounting for posting.

A great example would be, there is a duplicate charge in PCCharge, but only shows a single time in Theatre Manager, you will be double-charging the patron. Most likely only when the patron calls to complain about the extra charge will you know that something went wrong.

Finally, if the batch has an error in PC Charge, such as an invalid batch settlement error, you wouldn't know. Unless you are checking the PC Charge totals and PC Charge's auto-settle reports on a daily bases, something like this can be missed. The longer it went unnoticed the more likely you are to loose transactions and require to re-authorize any dropped transactions that have not been settled within your merchant provider's required time period.

Comparing the PC PCharge batch to Theatre Manager is a part of the end of day process. It is very easy and very obvious if there are any discrepancies.

If Arts Management is requested to provide forensic investigation in balancing any settlements between your bank and Theatre Manager, when the merchant account is set to auto-settle (regardless if the settlement was done via PC Charge, or via the merchant provider directly), any time incurred or resources used during the investigation will be deemed a billable service and invoiced to the Theatre Manager client.

Installing and Using the Auto-Settle Utility
Since the PCCharge Auto-Settle utility is a powerful tool, it's not included in the standard PCCharge installation. To install the utility, double click on the file Setup.exe found in the AUTOSETTLE directory from within the PCCharge 5.7.1 Auto-Settle Utility download. Follow the on-screen installation instructions to install the Auto-Settle utility.

PCCharge MUST be running while you're using the Auto-Settle utility. Additionally, it is necessary to select the default window (credit card screen) in PCCharge.

To use the Auto-Settle utility, browse the directory where it was installed. Double-click the file AutoBatch.exe. On your first execution of the program, you'll be prompted to specify the location of the PCCharge directory.

It may be convenient to create a shortcut to this file on your desktop. Consult your Windows help file for instructions on creating a shortcut (instructions vary among the versions of Windows).

As a safety precaution, the Auto-Settle utility is not enabled when it starts.

To make it so that settlement is enabled every time this utility starts, you'll need to edit the program shortcut's properties. If you want settlement to be enabled every time this utility starts:

Right-click on the program's shortcut

Select Properties from the context menu

Add /e to the end of the address shown the Target: i.e. "C:\Program Files\AutoBatch\AutoBatch.exe" /e

Click OK. The shortcut will now cause the utility to start with settlement enabled.

Account Name: Default=User1. Specify the user that PCCharge will use to settle your batch. Most users should leave this field at the default value.

Settlement Timeout: Default=60. Specify the number of seconds that the PCCharge Auto-Settle utility will wait for a batch to settle before displaying an error message. You will very likely need to adjust this value to accommodate the following:

the size of your batch

the average settlement speed of your processor

whether you're using a TCP/IP or dial-up connection

The exact time needed will have to be determined through trial and error. It's suggested that you time a normal "Manually settled batch before entering a value into this field.

Response TimeOut: Default=30. Specify the number of seconds that the PCCharge Auto-Settle utility will wait for any response from PCCharge. This response comes before actual settlement is attempted, and can be thought of as the initial "handshake" response. Most users should leave this field at the default value.

Refunding a Charge in PC Charge

If there is a difference between PC Charge and Theatre Manager, PC Charge should be altered to match the totals in Theatre Manager. This may mean refunding a charge directly in PC Charge to balance the two.

Open PC Charge

Click the Credit button at the top of the window

Click the Credit tab

Enter the Credit Card Number

Enter the Credit Card Expiry Date

Enter the Value to be Refunded

Click the Process button

Click Yes

Click No

Click No

Click OK to the authorization message

Close the Credit Card Transaction window

End of Day Deposit Does Not Match

The pages contained in this section contain steps to follow when the PC Charge credit card batch does not match Theatre Manager's list total.

Please refer to the appropriate section below depending on your situation. If your issue is some other end of day balancing problem that is unrelated to PCCharge, please refer to troubleshooting end of day balance issues.

PC Charge - Indeterminate Batch

From time to time the totals inside PC Charge do not match the total the bank believes are in the batch. When this occurs the batch can not be settled in Theatre Manager. When attempting to setting the batch in PC Charge an INV BAT/STL error will appear preventing the batch from closing.

Correcting an Indeterminate Batch in PC Charge

These instructions will only work for some processors. If you are unable to follow these instructions in PC Charge (you get a "not enabled for host-based processors or other message), please contact AMS support.

Go to the machine running PC Charge.

Open PC Charge by double clicking on the PC Charge icon in the lower right corner of the screen by the time.

Click Batch >> Inquire >> Open Batch.

Click the OK button to populate the totals.

Write down the totals for each field along with the field name.

Close the Batch Inquire window.

Click Setup >> Credit Card Company.

Click the Extended button.

Change the totals to match those written down in the step above.

Click OK.

Click OK.

PC Charge has more money than Theatre Manager in the End of Day

We know Theatre Manager is always right. If PC Charge has more money then Theatre Manager we need to refund the difference in PC Charge so it matches Theatre Manager. In order to do that we need to find the difference. You'll need to run the Payment Detail report in PC Charge and compare the Payment to the ones you find in the Deposit window in Theatre Manager. Once you locate the extra payment you can Void it directly in PC Charge.

Finding the Missing Charge

Open PC Charge

Click the Report icon

Change the report option to Credit Card Detail

Change the date range to be between the last time an EOD was run and now

Click the OK button

Print the report

Close the report

Minimize PC Charge

Open the End of Day in Theatre Manager

Click the Deposit Funds button

Click the second Deposit button to confirm the date range

Select the Summary by Patron tab at the top of the window

Compare the Payments in Theatre Manager to the report from PC Charge

Note the additional Payment in the PC Charge report

Correcting the Charge

Open PC Charge

Click the Credit button

Select the Void Sale tab

Click the Process or View List button

Locate the additional charge in the list

Double click on the charge

Click the Process button

Click Yes, No, No

Click Ok to the Void confirmation window

Close the Credit Card Transaction window

Minimize PC Charge

Theatre Manager has more money than PC Charge in End of Day

Upon occasion, a temporary network communication error or similar event, can cause credit card charges to show up in Theatre Manager but they have not been transmitted properly to PC Charge. This can cause the PC Charge batch to be less than the list total in Theatre Manager. When this happens, you can take the the following steps to successfully complete the End of Day Process.

When the mismatch is a result of "dropped" authorizations - which can happen when an End of Day has not been run in several days during a holiday or other period of office-closure - then please start with the steps outlined here.

The batch does not match the list total (more in the list total) and the deposit has NOT been forced

This is the recommended course of action. Never force a deposit without first contacting Arts Management Support

Isolate the transaction(s) in Theatre Manager that do not appear in the PC Charge batch.

You do this by:

Select the Summary By Patron Tab in the End of Day Wizard

Scroll across to the "Authorization #" and "TroutID" fields and look for the credit card transactions that have no TroutID number.

In PC Charge, click Reports and select a Credit Card Detail Report.

Verify that the charge(s) in Theatre Manager with no TroutID are not listed on that report. You may want to expand your criteria to include all the days covered by the current batch to be certain.

Once you've confirmed that you've found the transactions in question, that is, the amounts, if added into the PC Charge batch total would bring the batch into balance, you can proceed with deleting the payment from the patron record in Theatre Manager.

Find the patron in the database.

For more information on finding the patron in the database click here.

Highlight the Payment that was not in PC Charge and click the Void button.

The Payment window opens.

Theatre Manager will ask whether you want to Void and Delete or just Delete the Payment.

As the payment is not in the credit card server, choose the Delete option.

You have created a credit balance on the order and can now apply the payment.

The batch does not match the list total (more in the list total) and the deposit has already been forced

This is NOT the recommended course of action. Once the deposit has been forced, then you'll need to run the manual charge in PC Charge in isolation from Theatre Manager and manually settle the PC Charge batch.

Ensure there is no active batch in PC Charge or Theatre Manager.

Settle any existing batch.

Check the EOD button in PC Charge to check the batch, however DO NOT click OK or Process on the EOD window in PC Charge as that will send the batch prematurely.

wait for information to populate, review it and close the window.

Stop any web listeners running and make sure no one in the office puts through a credit card charge.

Use the Deposit Detail report from the forced batch and the Credit Card Detail report in PC Charge (as discussed above) to discover the transaction(s) in Theatre Manager but not in PC Charge.

You can get card info for the charge in the Patron Record in Theatre Manager by:

Depending on your version of PC Charge, click either the OK or Process button to manually settle the batch.

Restart the web listeners and inform staff they can now process cards in Theatre Manager again.

Batch and Theatre Manager list do not match as a result of dropped Authorizations

Clients who use PC Charge can experience a mismatch between the PC Charge batch and the Theatre Manager list total on the first End of Day you run after a prolonged absence from the office or any period of time where an End of Day has not been completed for a number of days.

Most Merchant Processors will only hold a credit card authorization for "x" days. If the batch is not settled within "x" days, authorizations will start to "drop off" from the batch, beginning with the "oldest" charges. As each authorized payment crosses the "more than x days" threshold, the authorization will drop off (stale authorization and unable to be settled in the current open batch) and there will be that much less money in the PC Charge batch.

The value of "x days" varies from one processor to another and are typically set to 3 days, 5 days, 7 days, or 10 days, and some are greater. Our understanding is that most of the online processors (Paymentech Orbital, Authorize.net) do not drop stale dated authorizations at all - they automatically refresh the authorization when the settlement is attempted. That automatic refresh is not possible with PC Charge.

The default value for settlement frequency in Theatre Manager is 3 days (the lowest common threshold). To change this value, you perform the following steps:

Choose Setup >> System Tables >> Merchant Accounts.

Select the active Merchant Account and open to the Settlement Tab.

There is a line for "Settle Batch Frequency". The value defaults to 3 days as a safety measure - so the box office has 3 days to complete an End-of-Day before authorizations drop from the batch.

This means that at 3 days, Theatre Manager will warn users, when they login, End of Day has not been run and the batch has not been settled for 3 days. Theatre Manager will not allow further credit card authorization beyond the Batch Settlement Frequency value for the client's security until after an End of Day has been successfully completed (not forced). Regardless of the default settlement frequency, Web Sales will always continue to run and accept payments for authorizations.

The Settle Batch Frequency should be set to either match (or be lower than) your merchant's default batch settlement frequency. Avoid having it set to a longer duration for this will bypass Theatre Manager's warning and possibly have this same situation repeated in the future.

In the event that a batch is not settled within the requisite number of days (determined by your merchant provider) and authorizations have begun to drop from the PC Charge batch, there is a mismatch between the PC Charge batch and the Theatre Manager list total. The Theatre Manager list retains all charges that have been made - and is correct. The batch total will be less than the list total by an amount that equals the total amount of authorizations that have dropped.

This will match up the current PC Charge batch to the latest information from your bank for what's in the active batch.

In the Deposit window, click the Summary By Patron tab to view a list of all of the patrons and charges.

We recommend you sort by the TroutID column to put them in order from oldest (lowest TroutID) to newest (highest TroutID). The TroutID number comes directly from PC Charge and is the easiest way to compare charges in Theatre Manager to charges in PC Charge.

Compare the list to a current Credit Card Detail report from PC Charge showing you the charges still in the batch.

In PC Charge, click the Reports button in the main toolbar.

Select a Credit Card Detail Report from the drop-down of report options.

Enter a date range covering the time period from the most recent End of Day to the current date and click OK to run the report.

The results include the charges still in the current batch (the total on the report should match the current batch total) and will not include those which have dropped.

Re-authorize directly in PC Charge the charges you found in Theatre Manager's Summary By Patron that are no longer in PC Charge (they will typically be the oldest/lowest TroutID numbers).

This will bring the PC Charge batch into balance with Theatre Manager's list total. You can get full credit card information by logging into Theatre Manager as a Master User and looking up the card on each Patron's Credit Card Tab.

After all charges have been run again, restart the End of Day Wizard.

Theatre Manager's deposit will match PC Charge's batch, continue on with the deposit process as normal.

MANAGER password reset

To reset the MANAGER cashier password for PC Charge, you perform the following steps:

If the SYSTEM user becomes locked out or the password is forgotten, you will need to call Verifone direct and have that password reset. Verifone will probably bill you for this service.

Log into PC Charge as the SYSTEM user.

Select Setup > Cashier Privileges.

The Cashier Permissions window opens.

Both SYSTEM and MANAGER users are displayed. If the MANAGER user has been locked out, the Locked Out column will be set to True.

Highlight the MANAGER and click the Re-Enable Selected button at the bottom of the window.

In the case where the password has been forgotten, highlight the MANAGER user and hit the Enter key.

A dialog opens prompting for a new temporary password for the user

Enter the new password.

Upon first login, the MANAGER user will be prompted to create the new "permanent" password.

PC Charge Tips

Help with PC Charge

When in need of assistance with PC Charge contact Arts Management Systems. If necessary a conference call between the Client, Arts Management and Verifone can be arranged.

Installation

When installing PC Charge, the regional language on the Windows machine needs to be set to English (US).

Expiry Date

PC Charge stores a maximum expiry date within the program. This date needs to be increased from time to time as expiry dates continue in advance.

To adjust the Credit Card Date:

Open PC Charge

Click Setup

Click Configure System

Increase the Last Valid Year. The recommendation would be to increase the date by 10-15 years from the current year.

Closing Batches

Make sure to check PC Charge after each End of Day Wizard to ensure the batch has successfully closed. To check the batch:

Open PC Charge.

Click the EOD button at the top of the window.

Review the totals displayed. If the batch is closed the totals should equal zero.

Pinging the Credit Card Server

If you cannot authorize, or if you turn authorization off and on again, you can ping your server to re-establish a connection. To Ping a computer, you perform the following steps:

From the main Theatre Manager Menu, choose Setup >> Ping Computer

The Ping Computer on Network dialog opens.

Ensure that your computer's IP Address as listed in the Ping Window is correct, as is that of the
server or machine you want to Ping.

The Ping Window will automatically populate the IP information for the active Merchant Account (in the example, the Merchant Account is for Paymentech Orbital, so you see the Primary URL for Orbital in the image). If you wish to switch it to another IP, click the Pick button for a list of commonly used IP's in Theatre Manager.

Click the Ping button.

You will get a message in red indicating whether or not the Ping was successful.

If you cannot communicate with the server:

First check PC Charge is running on the server

Check the workstation is able to get online

Your IP addresses are correct.

The selected port (443 for Orbital, 31419 for PC Charge) is the correct port. If it is not, change the port in Theatre Manager
to match.

If you can still not communicate, please check with your network or IT department to ensure proper functioning of routers/port forwarding in the office.

For more information about the Ping Function in Theatre Manager, click here.

Checking a Computer's IP Address

Every machine on a network has a unique identifier. Just as you would address a letter to send in the mail, computers use the unique identifier to send data to specific computers on a network. Most networks today, including all computers on the Internet, use the TCP/IP protocol as the standard for how to communicate on the network. In the TCP/IP protocol, the unique identifier for a computer is called its IP address. There are a number of different ways to find an IP the following are the standard ways for the MAC and the PC.

TCP/IP Setup - Mac OSX

Setting Up TCP/IP for Mac OSX

For More information on network setup in Mac OSX, please refer to Apple's
Website or internal Mac Help.

If you are unsure if you should be changing
these settings, please contact your Network Administrator or your network's
Technical Support.

Theatre Manager Support does not cover network setup.

Begin by going into your Apple, and System Preferences

Click on Network, select your active connection on the left, then click the Advanced button.

In the TCP/IP tab, if you are set for DHCP, you will see your IP
Address listed under IPv4 Address (in the example, the IP is 10.0.1.2)

**Not recommended without consulting your IT Department** To change the IP of this machine, click the drop-down by Configure IPv4 to change between Manual or Using DHCP.

If you enter your IP manually, you can do so in this window

Click 'OK' to exit back to Network Settings, and 'Apply' to apply your change.

ipconfig - Windows

There are many different versions of Windows being used. The simplest way to check a computer's IP address in Windows is:

In Windows versions with a Start Button

Click the Start button.

Enter CMD in the search box.

A list of items contining CMD open.

Click the CMD Program.

The Command Prompt window opens.

Type ipconfig and hit Enter

You'll see a list of a few different addresses. The IPv4 address or simply the line that says "IP Address" (depending on the version of Windows) is the IP address of the machine.

In Windows 8

Open the Charm Bar.

Enter CMD in the search box.

Click the CMD Program.

The Command Prompt window opens.

Type ipconfig and hit Enter

You'll see a list of a few different addresses. The IPv4 address or simply the line that says "IP Address" (depending on the version of Windows) is the IP address of the machine.

PCCharge Decommissioning and Removal

When a venue is no longer using PCCharge, it is important that the database be removed for a couple of reasons:

The PCCW.mdb database still contains encrypted card information. This is a database that falls under PCI rules and you have to be aware of its existence on your network that.

In the long run, if a machine that contained credit card data is repurposed or trashed, you do not want to have the hard drive go to the computer graveyard or another user with that kind of information on it.

We recommend completely removing PCCharge from a machine a month or two after a switch over to one of the direct processors. This should allow sufficient time to produce reports that may be needed for bank reconciliation.

To remove PC Charge, you can take the following steps. You must do at least the first one to securely erase the database (which is more than simply putting the file in the trash and emptying it). The additional steps are for additional security.